What began with a malfunctioning gym machine developed into an unlikely friendship between musician Shakira Shakiraa and the late King of Tooro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Following the King’s death, Shakira joined many Ugandans in mourning and spoke publicly about her personal connection with the young monarch, revealing that the two had been gym buddies.
She also said she had developed a friendship with the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa.
Her comments, however, quickly attracted attention on social media, with some users questioning how close she really was to the late King. Others accused the musician of trying to associate herself with his legacy for publicity.
Shakira has since dismissed the speculation, insisting that her friendship with King Oyo was genuine and was never something she deliberately cultivated for public attention.
According to the musician, their relationship began in an ordinary and almost accidental way at the gym.
“I was on one of the machines and it refused to work and he came, he helped me out. From there we started hellos and then it matured into a friendship,” she explained.
What started with a simple act of assistance gradually developed into familiarity as the two repeatedly crossed paths during their gym sessions.
For Shakira, those encounters eventually became a friendship, although she says she never intended her description of King Oyo as a friend to suggest a relationship beyond the bond they had developed through their regular interactions.
The musician said she only spoke about the relationship because she was asked about the late monarch and chose to share the personal experience that had remained most memorable to her.
“When they asked me about him, I shared my experience because that stood out in my friendship with him,” she said.
The revelation nevertheless became a subject of online debate, with some questioning why she had chosen to speak about her connection to the King after his death.
Shakira, however, said she has little interest in chasing online attention or staying in the public conversation simply for the sake of being talked about.
“I am the kind of person that doesn’t care whether I’m trending or not, whether my music is played or not. I focus on my businesses, that’s all,” she said.
For her, the friendship did not begin because either of them needed publicity. It started with an ordinary moment at a gym, grew through repeated encounters and eventually became a relationship she remembers fondly.
And while social media users may continue to debate the closeness of that friendship, Shakira maintains that she was simply sharing a personal memory of a late King she had come to know in an unexpected setting.
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